if

a

‘Governments altect our.
‘every action ‘at home, “at.
“work: ‘arid in between. -

In- Canada this: impact is”:
It. has. 20
largely-occurred since the”

~pelatively * new,

Second -World War and only -
now is. Teal, debate Aaking*
: place. “ ‘about: ” ‘the

_ government’ ‘3 proper place

‘in Canadian life,
With | philosophers, .
political selentists’ and _

'* economists © arranged — on

both’: sides: of the ‘jpaule,
‘ordinary Canadians’ must

» decide: for: therhdelves how. ,
much | governinént « ‘is tao.

much," “what “programe:

’ should be .cul, ‘what. new:

services are needed, who.

should pay. ‘and? how...the: :
- thoney should be collected.”

Mention Big- Government «:
and. most people think” of
Ottawa. But ‘the biggest -
jump *- = government |
spending in tah las} years .
has beeti at the provincial.

- and. mimicipal. levels. |

“anybody. who doesn't .
realize that just hasn't lived.
in . ‘this country,” says
* Richard Bird, a University
of Toronto economist. .

_A 1079 study he ‘did for the

Canadian Tax - Foundation
says Ottawa's share of the

economy grew. to 16.1" per

cent-of. the Grosg National

‘Product in “1977 from 14.4-

per ‘cént ln 1947. Federal
spending, not. including

transfer payments to other’ ”

governments, rose 14 per’
“cent in the 30-year-period.
SHARES SKYROCKETED

The provinces'.. share,
> after federal. aid is: added,

; skyrocketed to more than 13

per cent from 5.2 per cent,
an increase of more than 140..
per cent. .

Municipal spending, after ‘the size of ‘government and-
and .
‘for :
. other: --colintrias* — are
ot Bird found that-4i-per-eent—auficut tFcante by og

~ Figures ~

federal and provincial aid is

added, jumped to about nine
_ per cent, from 4, 4 per cent.

‘of the total’. growth in

government spending since

‘the Second World War can

-be attributed directly to the

provinces. .
Municipal spending, .
including schools,

| accounted for 25 per cent,:

while Ottawa accounted for
just 12 per cent. Most of the
rest has gone to hospitals,
which are-under provincial

Two of the world's best-known operas -

‘ita.

Judit a wee
- ‘The. debate ‘ove tha ole -

* government intervention we:
wouldn't, have, a country,"
Bays ‘Robert Laxer- of the:
Committee oe “ ve
- Ganadianizttion
Petroleum Tndubery.

““We ‘have to “yemeniber

_ that, The building’ of. the

CPR. ‘occurred becalise of a
" gdverament ; initlative. ”

“On: ‘the’ ‘other. he nd; ‘some
groups — busiziess "leaders:
‘especially. = Pea Canada
now. has ©. much -
government, et “At- is:

usurping the role of private

enterprise’ and’ “juriing
» Canada ‘ into’. a°- “socialist :
‘state. Their model’ is, the
United , States,” :
private: enterprisé. is: king.

Michael Walker,’ director -
,of the: Fraser. Institute, ° i
“small-c’, consérvalive -
- economic think tank based.
in Vaiicouver, ‘pays’ there
‘has been an explosion. in the,
size of government in recent
years and he blames it all on”

“the pursuit . of a-promise |

that: we. tan't fulfil, that

_ government expenditure 7
wepinpeee standard . .
vi .

Polls indicate’ Canadians
aré not always consistent on

the issue,'While 46 per cent .

of respondents in a Gallup
poll last August ‘Said ‘they.
saw Big Government aaa
‘threat, ‘Up from. 97 per. cent
in :1979, an: October poll
found 8 per cent. approved
Petro-Canada’
involvement in’ retail gas
sales.

Hard and fast figures on
agencies _
comparable “figures

from -*the«
Organization for Economic
Cooperation... and *

Development in Paris show
‘government’ in Canada |
takes’ up only. an. average

share of the economy — .

although . thése . figures do
net include: ‘spending by
state-awned:: _ corporations
such as Petro-Canada here,
the nationalized banks in

~ the:

where ©

: “Every

. department.’ of; .
services, every one has a.
department of health, they = |

: that still i Teaves the,

France or: the natlonalized -

"industries .of Britain... ae
a ‘and ‘site ‘of ‘government ' in. trles 0

ida: is,--ag: old: BS. the ”

Federal, . provincial. ‘ana

* . Ioeal Rovernmients~ in 1980:
“-. “aeeounted for 40,7 pér‘ cent"

df Canada’s.. $820-billlon
. Gross, Domestlé:. Product,
“the. total -of ‘all: goods and”
‘Services produced ‘in the.

country. .

In other’ ‘words, for every
$100 spent, in the | economy,
$40 came from, one. level of
government or’ another:

Tn, the. United: States the

comparable figure /is.:33.2' .
. per cent and in Japan ‘32.7, '
But in the: United: Kingdom

it waa 44.6, in. Italy '45. 6:n

France :: 46.2 Vand, * West -

Germany 46.9. In. Sweden,

‘probably .the most’: highly

socialized democracy i in the®

_ world, it was 05.7, ; :

‘The growth of: Canadian

spending over ‘the last 20 ~

years has also been about
average. Between 1960 and

. 1880, government’ ‘6 share of
’ the U.S. economy Increased

19.4 per cent — about half
the Canadian rate of 4. 6 per. .
cent. °

But. the government’ 8
share af. the: ‘economy ‘grew
33.5 per cent in’ France, 36.5

per. cent. in, the: United..
Kingdom, 51, 5 per. cent.in-

Italy — and 57.8 per.cent in
’ Japan —.
happens to be the’ biggest

economle success of any of -

the seven.

“Partof the problem — if it :

| complains’ tha -the job, be
“goods. and"

which... also -

“ol. “whether. govt,
oe generally is-too big, . a
Sam Hughes, presiderit of.
the Canadian ° Chamber” ‘a.
: Commerce, ‘phys! *
, “government at all levels has
grown enormously In receti
years and “has:too great
role in‘our lives.*°
“With " the
spending, che says, comes
growing government role
"everyday Iife, such as the:

imposition “of metric-only ‘

measurement.

Richard”. = Wiettel
director: of. research ‘for
Canadian. ' Federation‘
7 Independent et “Business

allocating: .
services in the: ecinomy ip
: increasingly shifting | fo,

“people, who don’t shave’ to: :

pay, ‘the, bills. saree

Canada is not out of: line: In’.
comparison with’... -other-
major: . “industrialized,
countries “but Idon’t take tt

‘The. . Fraser / Institute's”

= Walker -wouldn’t : “concede.
even that, arguing ‘that. on¢e’”

Crown ‘corporations are:
included “we are starting t io
bump, up, against.
~ Scandinavian kindof: ides?’
ag. opposed to: being. in: ‘the:
middle.”" :
_ Auditor General | Kenneth

is a problem — may be that - wad

Canada is a federal state.
- provincial -
governinent - has .. its“ own

all have'‘a_ department: of

education,” . says Terrance °°
Munsley, executive director, .
of the Canadian’ Council. on

Social: ‘Developmient.-

“Hf ‘you céntralized those
you'd be” much “mote
“need--
somewhat fewer pedple. But
: Canadians, :
to be:

interested” in. that. They -
_ want to. have | a. balance of. |

efficient: and.
ideologically.
don’t appear

power . between’ the
provinclal ~ and federal
governments.” . |. .

Whatever. level. ‘of
government is: responsible

Hl Trovatore by Giuseppe Verdi

and The Barber of Seville by Glacomo Rossin! - will be seen at the REM
, Lee Theater on Saturday,. Apri 16 at-8.p.m, The Vancouver Opera will

‘bring to ‘Terrace an assembly of highly skilled and professionally trained! - .

‘singers many of whom have appeared In Vancouver Opera praductions:

on the stage of the Queen Elizabeth Theater; Tickets are avaliable In: -

advance at Sight and Sound, or at the door prior to curtain time. © It Is-
‘sponsored by the Terrace Concert Society. and represents the final

, concert of the current season...

“social

estion ;

“mail

wh

Prince Rupert Kinsmen Club presents |

growth: in,

Wietfeldt.- “acknéwiedg 7

Dye has likened the moré .

‘then. 300 . federal ‘Grown.
cand”. their
288,000 ‘employees —. just.
8 lightly more than the’ rest."
D 7 government, -
including the armed forces”
toto “an etormous jeeberg. 7
oie: ‘in’ ‘the

corporations ©

floating |
wesome.” - .
ealy ihe of ner like

CNR, Petro-Can, CBC, Air
and. *

‘less spectacular, less likely-

* to attract public - interest,

‘leas likely to receive ‘the :
"attention of Parliament, yet
* Costly to the laxpayers.
_Andeed, deep down near the

bottom of the iceberg are
Subsidiaries - of © Crown
-eorporations. ‘that. may

“escape ‘all public. serutiny."”,
any. less seriously for that."

“Noting Dye’s calculation
that federal > Crown
corporations
billion ‘a year — compared
to about $80 billion for the

federal government itself —
+ Walker:

said, *
represents about 10 per cent

-of Gross National Product
* - yight there.”
But Bird. dismisses stich

-dlaimns:: ‘saying they’ are

-make -
intervention’ in: the private .
sector “look huge, gigantic -. :
_ — which: it certainly is not.”

" companies in Canada than. a,
there aré.in the -United |. *
: States, he says Canada has

Canada .
and Housing "- Canadianization -
_. Petroleum Industry, which |

ne wants Ottawa to make-
> Petro-Canada the largest oil

company inthe country by

says it is ‘a Reaganite

idea” - that — government
shouldn't he involved in the
economy.

spend - $30

; “that: :

“Province of.
British Columbia.

“vastly, . ‘exaggerat {Vand
: - government —

“Walle it. is” true ‘there are .

* eiperaton, it's. not! “80°

. "> tueh, the. ‘ile ‘that's: ae

Mel Hurtig ri Ss
 Munaley of ‘the: “poclal issue. It's the fact that they. -
a development, eye _sounell - ‘seer to beable ta setthem  .
“agrees.” Ae up without”
“Oo u Crown: ot . -Jaecountability beck through *

‘the political process."

many more’ state-owned

only an average number of

tate, corporations overall. -

“Tie Committee for ‘the J :
of the

nationalizing Imperial Oil
or another “multinational,

“The fact that the
government: does things.
that are essential for the
economy and that -It
happens to be be big doesn't
make: it”: wrong," says:
Laxer, president of - the
committee _ whose -

membership ; includes
former: Liberal . finance

minister Walter. Gordon,"
- _ author Margaret, Atwood

_and Edmonton publisher _ ;

Take ci care. of it. It’s priceless.
ce, It’syour right — and responsibility — to express your c choice in the formation
7 Of the next.Provincial Legislature. |

__Watchfor your form in the mail. And watch this newspaper for further

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Chiet Electoral officer Os .

YOUR VOTE.YOUR CHOICE.
_ IFYOURE REGISTERED. _..

The PROVINCIAL GENERAL ELECTION has been called for May 5, 7 983
This | means that you will scon receive your “You are Registered” notice inthe

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